Deep Ellum Dining News

Acclaimed ramen guru stirs up noodles and sushi for Deep Ellum Dallas

Oni Ramen is coming to Dallas.

Photo courtesy of Oni Ramen

An acclaimed ramen restaurant from Fort Worth is growing the family with a new location in Dallas, in the oh-so-hot neighborhood of Deep Ellum. Oni Ramen, from vaunted chef Jesús García, will open its second branch at 2822 Elm St., across from Cafe Brazil.

García opened the original Oni in Fort Worth's West 7th District in 2016, after having worked as a sushi chef at restaurants such as Little Lilly, Shinjuku Station, Blue Sushi, Five Sixty By Wolfgang Puck, and Sushi Yoko. He submerged himself in the art of ramen via educational trips to Japan, and tenures at ramen restaurants in Seattle, including famed chain Kizuki Ramen.

Oni's ramen menu is extensive, with three broths including chicken and dashi, which are less common than the popular pork. The menu has at least seven kinds of ramen, such as tonkotsu ramen and tsukemen, the ramen cousin where noodles and other ingredients are served separately from the broth.

At Fort Worth, he also does poke.

Deep Ellum represents his second effort to open in Dallas County; he was previously set to open a location at the CityLine complex in Richardson, but that fell through.

"Our original idea was to open in Richardson, but that involved taking on some debt, and I wasn't ready to do that," he says. "And then the Deep Ellum spot opened, and honestly, I feel like it's perfect. In Japan, you see ramen places staying open until 4 am. The ideal location is an area with a bar scene and music venues."

In Fort Worth, he's open until 10 pm on weekdays and 4 am on Fridays and Saturdays. "We do 25 percent of our business in Fort Worth on Fridays and Saturdays, between 11 pm and 4 am, it's crazy," he says.

In Dallas, he aims to be open unti 2 am on Thursday and Sunday, and until 4 am on Fridays and Saturdays. At about 1,200 square feet, the Dallas location is smaller than Fort Worth, so he'll be doing a slightly different menu.

"In Fort Worth, we do so many variations, but for Dallas, I'm going to trim it down to just pork broth," he says. "Our signature is miso, but we won't mix it with chicken broth like we do in Fort Worth, and we also won't do poke. I want to return to my sushi roots and do hand rolls. We'll bring in sushi-quality big-eye tuna and coho salmon."

It'll be different, with its own vibe, he says. "It'll have elements that are similar to Fort Worth, since they are sister restaurants," he says. "But they won't be tied to each other. I'll treat it as its own restaurant."

He'll have a kiosk for to-go orders, where guests can place orders and then pick up at the kitchen window. A combination of seating options will include stand-up-only ramen counters as well as chairs and tables.

"Half will be like Ten Ramen at Sylvan Thirty, where you just have a bowl," he says. "But we'll have a few tables, too. I've been where I wished I had somewhere to sit, so we'll have both options."

And they'll keep prices Fort Worth-style — nice and low. "I'm not charging $15 for a bowl," he says.

The restaurant will open in mid-summer, hopefully by August. Decor-wise, he'll keep the beautiful exposed brick that the building has, but add a Japanese touch: "We're doing Japanese-style graffiti, which fits with the Deep Ellum neighborhood. And we're also adding neon; neon and lights are a big part of the neighborhood. The inspiration is a cross between Deep Ellum graffiti and lights and the feel of the Kabukicho and Roppongi neighborhoods of Tokyo."

Asian Food News

Taste of Malaysia restaurant brings rare Asian cuisine to Dallas area

Taste of Malaysia

A new restaurant has debuted in Coppell with a cuisine that's relatively rare in Dallas. Called Taste of Malaysia, it's now open at 3001 Olympus Blvd #130, at the Sound at Cypress Waters, between an Ari's Italian market and a Kilwin's ice cream shop, where it's serving authentic Malaysian dishes and flavors — adding another option to Dallas' burgeoning Asian restaurant scene.

A neighbor to Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia, Malaysia has been described as having some of the best street food in Southeast Asia, boasting a mix of Malay, Chinese, Indian, and indigenous flavors. Signature dishes include satays — skewered meats — plus vividly spiced soups and rice dishes.

The country's national dish is nasi lemak, a beloved comfort food originally devised as a breakfast staple, featuring fragrant rice cooked in coconut milk with pandan leaves, sometimes enhanced with boiled egg and sliced cucumber and ikan bilis, i.e. anchovies.

Coming in at a close second is laksa, a spicy noodle soup made with rice noodles or egg noodles in a broth flavored with aromatic spices, shrimp paste, and coconut milk or tamarind.

These are the dishes that natives of Malaysia and fans of Malaysian food crave, says Shiva Nair, part of the team, along with his wife, Vsruti "Vish" Nair, that opened Taste of Malaysia.

Shiva has more than 20 years in the hospitality business including managing hotels and running other restaurants.

"There are a lot of Malaysians here in Dallas-Fort Worth but not many Malaysian restaurants," Shiva says. "That's what gave us the idea to open this."

Their menu features seven varieties of nasi lemak — including vegetable curry, chicken curry, slow cooked beef, slow-cooked chicken, fried chicken, fish, and spicy shrimp — all made with coconut rice, peanuts, boiled egg, and cucumber.

They also have fried rice, noodle dishes, satay chicken skewers, spring rolls, a samosa-style pastry with potatoes and vegetables called karipap, and a chicken "kutlet" — a breaded patty with minced chicken enclosed in a crunchy crust.

All of their meat is halal, meaning that the animals are raised and butchered in accordance with Islamic guidelines — a growing trend in Dallas-Fort Worth.

There's a full bar and the ultimate lure for timid diners: a lunchtime buffet, $18 on weekdays and $20 on weekends, with 15 to 20 dishes, with chicken, shrimp, fish, and vegetarian and vegan options, which are plentiful in Malaysian cuisine.

"We serve the buffet only at lunch, so that those who are unfamiliar with the cuisine can sample every dish," Shiva says.

"We saw an opportunity to bring Malaysian flavors to North Texas, a region hungry for authentic, halal-certified Asian food with real spicing and real heritage," he says.

openings coppell asian cuisine